Tuesday, March 26, 2013

It was my Grandma's birthday last Monday, and I made her a "Fish Cake" made up of Vanilla Buttercream Cupcakes and a mini cake (I used the same recipe for both the cupcakes and mini cake). I arranged them to look like a fish because she's a pisces, plus I was inspired by a picture I found on pinterest which was just too cute not to try!

I found the recipe for the cupcakes using an app called "Cupcake", and they're SO tasty!!

To make the fish cake, head on over to My Cake School's site for photo instructions. Oh, and I used a chocolates for the eye and the kissy mouth ;)

4. Scrape down sides of bowl with rubber spatula and mix until smooth and no flour pockets remain.

5. Divide the batter evenly among cups of prepared tin.

6. Place the cupcake tin on the oven rack in the middle of the oven.

7. Bake until cupcake tops are pale gold and toothpick or skewer inserted into center comes out clean: 17-24 minutes.

8. Cool cupcakes on wire rack to room temperature before frosting.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients

1 cup (8 ounces) unsalted butter

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Method

1. Using the wire whisk attachment of your stand mixer, whip the butter on medium-high speed for 5 minutes, stopping to scrape the bowl once or twice.

2. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the powdered sugar.

3. Once all of the powdered sugar is incorporated, increase the speed to medium-high and add the vanilla, mixing until incorporated.

4. Whip at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes, scraping the bowl as needed.

You can store any unused buttercream in the refrigerator in an a airtight container. Before using, let it come to room temperature and then give it a quick whip in the mixer.

There you have it! These cupcakes are quick, easy, light and yummy! They're a hit both with teens, adults and grandparents - definitely worth trying out.

And if you're worried about the decorating part, don't fret, the first time I made these cupcakes they did were not aesthetically pleasing at all. But thanks to a new squeeze bottle, my second time round was much more successful (though the taste was no different).

My new best friend: squeeze bottle with yellow cap (yay!)

If you don't have a squeeze bottle, you can always spread it with a knife, which will looks way better than cutting a whole in a bag and squeezing it out, as shown below...

Let me know if you try making the cupcakes and fish cake!

Any pictures and stories of disasters and/ or successes are always welcome ;)

Sunday, March 10, 2013

Yuppers, I finally got my driver's license a couple of weeks ago! I'm so happy.. I've been driving a bit on my own, listening to Young the Giant and cranking up the heat in the car to simulate summer. The freedom (nearly) makes up for my ugly driver's license picture. At least my driver's license is pink. Pink and glitter makes anything pretty.. maybe I should sprinkle some glitter on it? I wonder what the police would say then.. ;)

Oh, and I've only gotten lost once so far.. although the incident was quite embarrassing... I couldn't figure out how to drive to our local grocery store because there was some road work. I ended up at an apartment building's private parking spots and then had to drive really far to somehow drive around it and back. Let's just say it felt like summer then, cuz I was all sweaty when I finally arrived at the store. Oh well, what's life without a little confusion, sweat and adventure?

What's your sense of direction like?What music do you listen to in the car? (I really need to burn a CD with all my gangstah music :D)
If you live in Norway, watch out, cuz I'll be cruising by ;)

About Me

I love to make things. Creating things gets me in a certain state of mind that is extremely peaceful and serene. I could sit for hours making and making things. Even if my shoulders start to ache, I just keep going. At the moment I love jewelry-making and crocheting. I also love writing. Through this blog I want my crafts to be put out there - out, into the world. Hopefully this blog will give my jewelry a voice of it's own, as it is yearning to be heard.

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